“Why are you saying that?”
“Just wondering, are you guys heading to the warp gate in the center?”
“You won’t make it.”
“I’m not just saying this for the sake of it. Don’t go. We got close to the warp gate just two days ago, but we failed. We were only 300 meters away.”
“Why? We ended up retreating after just standing around. If we had decided a bit sooner… Jintae might have…”
“You know the survival conditions, right? It’s better to just hold out for seven days. Especially since you can’t handle that thing. If it weren’t for Jintae, we all would have been killed by that monster. Even from a distance, it knew exactly where we were.”
“That monster is…”
The conditions for the appearance of a boss monster are to not linger at designated points. There’s also the random appearance factor, but that’s unpredictable. Honestly, I was more surprised that Woo Jung-min’s group reached the warp gate in just three days than the fact that a boss monster appeared near it.
Considering Woo Jung-min and Sun Yoo-woon, who later became famous in Hall Plain, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. I suddenly remembered the face of Won Hye-soo, who had been crying. She cursed at me, but it didn’t bother me much.
I knew all too well the feeling of losing someone precious. I went through that too. After losing my brother and her, I went a bit mad for a while. I could probably fill a few pools with the blood on my hands from back then.
“An-hyun.”
As we walked, I heard Lee Yoo-jung call out to An-hyun. When he looked up, she spoke in an unusually quiet voice.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
”…For saving me earlier.”
An-hyun tilted his head, then nodded as if he remembered. “Ah, right.”
“Your temper is the problem. You need to tone it down. If I hadn’t been wary of that guy from the start, you would’ve had a dagger in your forehead.”
“But he was so infuriating!”
“Even so, try treating others half as well as you treat Su-hyun. Or at least be half as nice as Han-byeol. What’s the point of a pretty face if your personality is a mess?”
“Pre… pretty? Really? Ah… hmph! Su-hyun oppa works hard because of us, that’s all. Anyway, I don’t like what I don’t like.”
Yoo-jung blushed at the mention of her being pretty and turned her head with a snap. An-hyun’s eyes widened at her unexpectedly girlish behavior. It was a significant improvement. I was worried they might start arguing again, but thankfully, it seemed to have passed.
At that moment, An-sol, who had been listening to their conversation, tugged on An-hyun’s sleeve. He instinctively reached out and gently patted her head. Watching An-sol’s beaming face, Lee Yoo-jung’s eyes sharpened. Only the oblivious An-hyun remained unaware of the subtle tensions around him as he continued to scan the surroundings. Why are popular guys always so clueless? Tsk tsk.
We walked diligently for a while and finally found a save point as the sun began to set. We hadn’t encountered a single monster on the way. The group was pleased, thinking luck was on our side, but it wasn’t entirely a reason to celebrate.
Since leaving the forest, except for a brief stay in the city, we had constantly been under monster attacks. An-sol didn’t even scream at the sight of the mangled bodies of the monsters. Of course, I had deliberately led us to encounter monsters, but the group was finally reaping the rewards of their hardships.
The area around the warp gate is populated by monsters with a certain level of intelligence. The fact that we had taken down five high-ranking Mankis was proof of that. They must know that many monsters have fallen to our group. Their keen sense of smell would detect the scent of blood on us.
That’s what I thought, at least. But after talking with Woo Jung-min, I changed my mind. If a boss monster had appeared and was roaming near the warp gate, there wouldn’t be any bold monsters willing to operate near the apex predator of the food chain.
In other words, if we don’t encounter any monsters tomorrow, like Woo Jung-min’s group, we might face a boss monster near the warp gate. It was an ironic situation. We left the city to avoid a boss monster, only to risk encountering one again.
Of course, there was a difference between the two situations. In the city, we would have definitely encountered one, but now, the probability was uncertain.
As I pondered, a question arose. There are conditions for a boss monster’s appearance. And there are other survivors of the trial besides us. So, what happens if multiple groups meet the conditions for a boss monster’s appearance simultaneously? Adding the assumption that a boss monster is likely to appear near the warp gate made the situation even more complicated.
I realized I knew almost nothing about the trial. In Hall Plain, I had researched almost everything over ten years, but not the trial. I only had fragmented memories of users occasionally joking about it. It wasn’t suffocating, but the uneasy feeling lingered.
How much time had passed? After walking for a while, we finally found a point.
“A yellow roof. It looks like a cabin.”
“Luckily, we found it today too. Let’s rest here for the night, even if it’s a bit early. Is that okay, hyung?”
“Don’t stay more than a day. There’s a warning here too. But it seems better than last time, right, oppa?”
“I’m going in first. I want to wash up and change clothes. Hehe.”
”…”
“Hyung?”
“Oppa?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Let’s do that.”
As I nodded hastily, everyone looked at me strangely. I shook my head to indicate it was nothing.
Watching the group chatter away, I sighed inwardly. These carefree kids. This is why group travel is inconvenient. If I were moving alone, I would have already entered Hall Plain. Since no brilliant ideas were coming to mind, I decided to put my thoughts on hold. I realized I had become quite relaxed.
In the past, when I knew nothing, I couldn’t sit still when faced with survival issues and would desperately try to come up with a solution. But not anymore. Deep down, I had a mindset that if things went south, I could just cut through anything.
“Oppa, what are you doing? We’re going in first!”
”…I’m coming.”
Watching Yoo-jung wave at me with a bright smile, I calmly followed. I decided to think about tomorrow’s problems tomorrow.
Night had fallen. I was sitting on the steps leading to the cabin, keeping watch. An-hyun and I no longer took turns alone. Now, An-hyun, Kim Han-byeol, Lee Yoo-jung, and I took turns. We didn’t have a strict schedule, but we switched when it felt like enough time had passed.
Yoo-jung was on the first watch, and I was next. Han-byeol was third, and An-hyun was last. Each of us took about two hours, but Yoo-jung insisted on switching with me before even an hour had passed (or so it felt). She kept glancing away, knowing she was being cheeky.
When I habitually reached into my pocket, I found a chocolate bar. Deciding to let it slide, Yoo-jung slipped it into my hand, feeling guilty. She must have stashed it away secretly. We weren’t short on food or drinks, so I didn’t say anything. Since it was almost time to switch with Han-byeol, I figured I’d munch on the chocolate bar before heading in.
Just as I was about to open the wrapper, a coffee drink appeared in front of my right cheek. I turned to see Kim Han-byeol bending over, looking at me intently.
“Hiding treats and eating them alone, are we?”
”…Yoo-jung gave it to me.”
“That unnie never shares sweets, especially chocolate.”
“She didn’t keep her watch time. She felt guilty and gave it to me.”
Han-byeol chuckled wryly and sat beside me. I broke the chocolate bar in half and handed it to her, which she accepted eagerly.
“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”
“I’ll enjoy the coffee too.”
Kim Han-byeol was much more comfortable around me than before. She wasn’t as lively as Lee Yoo-jung, but the distance between us had lessened a bit. However, we were the only ones in the group who still used formal speech with each other. It had become an unspoken agreement since the beginning.
“What were you thinking about so deeply that your expression was so grim? You didn’t even notice me coming.”
I knew. I just pretended not to. I thought to myself but didn’t say it out loud. After taking a sip of coffee, I spoke.
“Haha, I must have zoned out for a bit. But did I really look that grim?”
“Yes. After you talked to that guy this afternoon, you seemed a bit tense. Wasn’t that it?”
Really? I thought I always kept a neutral expression. As I unconsciously touched my face, Kim Han-byeol added calmly.
“So, what did you talk about back then?”
”…It’s nothing.”
“I’m not the only one who feels this way. Hyun, Yujung, Sol—they’re all quietly worried. You’ve barely said a word since then.”
“I’ve just been lost in thought. Everything will work out, I’m sure of it. Even if something does happen, we’ll handle it. Don’t worry too much.”
With that, I finished off my chocolate bar and the last of my coffee in one gulp. Talking to her was bringing back memories of her more vividly than ever. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. So, I asked her to keep an eye on things and was just about to turn and head up the stairs.
“Wait a minute. I still have questions.”
In novels, comics, or dramas, the male lead usually gets to leave smoothly in situations like this. Why wasn’t she letting me go? I could feel Kim Hanbyul gearing up to start her interrogation again, and I screamed internally. Originally, it was supposed to be Ahn Hyun’s turn after me, but when Hanbyul insisted on taking over, I had a bad feeling. I put on my most pleasant face and spoke.
“I’m a bit tired. Would it be alright if we talked tomorrow? I really want to get some sleep.”
“I want to hear it now.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but it fell flat. Hanbyul was looking at me with the same cold expression she had at the start. Her face overlapped with hers in my mind, and I found myself averting my gaze.
“I feel like if I don’t ask now, I’ll never get the chance.”
“Oh, that thing I said back then? It was really nothing. What I meant was…”
“Oppa.”
I clammed up instantly. Was it just because she called me oppa? No, I’m not some creep who gets a kick out of that.
“Su-hyun oppa. That’s not what I want to ask.”
Hanbyul’s face remained cold and calm, but there was something different about her demeanor. She was angry. Her gaze demanded that I stay, that I not run away. I realized she was serious. My expression softened, and I met her eyes with a steady gaze. Only then did she begin to speak.